The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Michael Johnson Invitational
No. 7/3 Track and Field wraps up pair of weekend meets
04.17.2021 | Track & Field / Cross Country
The Longhorns concluded competition at the Michael Johnson and Roadrunner invitationals on Saturday.
WACO, Texas – The No. 7/3 Texas Track and Field program concluded a pair of meets across Central Texas on Saturday, wrapping up competition at the Roadrunner Invitational in San Antonio and the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco.
Freshman Kelsie Vicknair capped the weekend with an impressive showing in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Michael Johnson Invitational. She ran the race in 10:29.80 to earn her second victory of the season and climb to No. 4 on Texas' top performers list. Her time was a 16-second improvement from her personal-best that she set at UT's dual meet versus Texas A&M earlier this month, a race she also won.
In addition, the Longhorns picked up three more event wins on Saturday in Waco.
Elena Bruckner starred in the women's premier shot put, nearly matching her collegiate-best throw despite throwing into a headwind on a damp and chilly spring day. Bruckner threw the shot 17.13m/56-2.5 en route to victory, marking her third win in four shot put competitions this spring. She previously won at the Longhorn Invitational and in a dual meet vs. Texas A&M, while finishing second at the Texas Relays behind her lifetime-best throw (17.19m/56-4.75).
Bruckner also won the women's premier discus competition with a best throw of 55.61m/182-5.5. Her mark is the fourth-best throw of her career and on UT record. With her performance on Saturday, Bruckner now owns 14 of the top 20 farthest discus throws, including each of the top eight, by a Longhorn all-time. She has won three of her four discus competitions as well, doing so in unison with her efforts in the shot put. Bruckner's lone non-victory came at the Texas Relays, where she finished fourth.
Chanel Brissett, a two-time NCAA Champion, provided victory for Texas in the women's 100-meter hurdles. She clocked a time of 12.85 (+2.3) in a victorious outdoor season opener. Her time was wind-aided, so it is therefore not eligible for official records and qualifying. But had her time been wind-legal, it would rank her second in the NCAA this season and sixth in UT history.
Some of Saturday's other top performances from the Longhorns in Waco included strong outings from Patrick Piperi in the men's discus and shot put, Kiana Lowery in the women's discus, Jathan Belaire and Sophia Falco in the men's and women's long jump, respectively, and Valery Tobias in the women's 800-meter run.
With a northern wind whipping into the competitors' faces early in the morning, Piperi finished eighth in the discus throw to start Saturday's action off. He launched the discus 49.51m/162-5.25 in his first competition of the day. The freshman followed it up by placing third in the premier shot put after a throw of 17.55m/57-7. Kiana Lowery also impressed in women's discus action, earning a third-place finish with a throw of 46.76m/153-5 – her collegiate best.
Belaire and Falco finished third and fourth, respectively, in long jump action on Saturday. The former jumped a personal-best 7.42m/24-0.25 on his first attempt to finish in the bronze position. Falco, meanwhile, jumped 6.00m/19-8.25 during her series to finish just off the podium. It was the second time she has hit the six-meter mark in long jump action this spring, following a personal-best 6.16m/20-2.5 mark at the Texas Relays last month.
Valery Tobias placed seventh in the women's 800-meter field that featured a collegiate-record performance from the winner Athing Mu. Tobias clocked 2:07.10 in the half-mile race, the third time in as many tries this season she has been well below the 2:10.00 mark.
In San Antonio, the Longhorns also had strong performances in vertical jumps competition following Leo Neugebauer's decathlon victory yesterday.
Marleen Guerrero was the top finisher for the Texas contingent at the Roadrunner Invitational on Saturday, placing second in the women's high jump. She cleared the bar at 1.66m/5-5.25 to earn her placement.
Olivia Buntin was also a podium finisher for the women, earning a third-place finish in the pole vault after clearing the bar at 3.95m/12-11.5. Buntin's mark was just shy of matching her outdoor personal best (4.00m/13-1.5) and marking the second time she would have cleared the 13-foot barrier this season.
Warren Miller led the way for the Texas men with a third-place finish in men's pole vault action after a clearance of 5.20m/17-0.75. Across both indoor and outdoor competition, Saturday marked the seventh-straight outing that Miller soared above the five-meter mark in competition. Behind him, Grahm Gonzalez placed sixth with a personal-best performance of 5.05m/16-6.75.
In men's high jump action, Jared Dupree and Riley Foreman tied for fifth place at 1.95m/6-4.75 while Philip Frank placed eighth in the field.
The Longhorns have another quick turnaround as they enter the closing stretch of their regular season. Next up, Texas is slated to compete in the LSU Alumni Gold next Saturday, April 24, in Baton Rouge, La. Following that meet, UT is scheduled to host the Texas Invitational on April 30-May 1 before postseason action begins later in May.
Players Mentioned
